


Pickles

by Ennarcia



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Alternate Universe - Gender Changes, F/M, Listen I'm not cluttering up the character tags when they're not focused on at all, Pregnancy, ooc probably
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-22
Updated: 2020-02-24
Packaged: 2021-02-28 04:47:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,747
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22838062
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ennarcia/pseuds/Ennarcia
Summary: Pickles. Demyx craved them.
Relationships: Demyx/Ienzo (Kingdom Hearts), Demyx/Zexion (Kingdom Hearts)
Comments: 5
Kudos: 13





	1. Craving Pickles

**Author's Note:**

> Sometimes u just gotta make the weird genderbend pickle craving pregnancy fic.
> 
> Warning: Humanoid nobodies have been given a proper class name in this fic: "Superior" Making Xemnas' title as THE superior a little more symbolic.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pickles. Demyx craved them.

Pickles. Demyx's eyes shot open at the thought. She really, really wanted some pickles right now. A glance at the bedside clock. 3 AM. She should stay in bed, snuggle a bit closer to Ienzo, and go back to sleep. Except she really, really wanted some pickles. So, stealthy as a mouse, she got out of bed and made her way to the kitchen. 

Ienzo flicked on the kitchen light roughly five minutes later, hair unkempt and squinty eyed, to find her munching on a piece of pickled daikon. "This is the ninth night in a row you've done this." He said.

"Ooo, my lucky number!" Demyx replied giddily.

"I'm sure you'll be saying that later when you're throwing up again too. We need to go to Even."

"So I threw up the last eight times, it'll be fine. I'm not sick, Zexy, chill."

Yeah, later that morning, Demyx was once again hugging the toilet seat and emptying the contents of her stomach. "We're going to Even." Ienzo said with finality.

\---

The lab's coolness factor had decreased significantly now that Demyx was used to it, and Even running tests and asking her annoying questions didn't help matters. Ienzo was holding her hand too, so escape was impossible.

"No, no, no, it must be something else." Even muttered. He'd been looking annoyed for a while now, actually. "But I've run this test five times already, it's time to face the facts." 

Even turned toward the young couple with a rather bored look on his face, and with a tone completely unfit for the news he was giving said, "congratulations, you're pregnant."

Both of them were stunned into silence, before Demyx gave a slow laugh. "Very funny, but that's like, totally not a thing. I'm still a nobody, remember? What's actually wrong?"

Even rolled his eyes. "There was never any scientific evidence that Superior Nobodies such as yourself are unable to breed like normal humans do. In fact, when you first joined the organization, the idea to use you as a way to make organic vessels was put forth." 

Demyx's eyes bulged. "No way! Like, seriously?!"

Even nodded, and Ienzo's grip on her hand tightened. "Yes, your awful work ethic and otherwise uselessness made it seem like a convenient way to get some use out of you. We'd even gone so far as to calculate the ideal Male partner, but by then, Zexion had managed to argue that your reconnaissance work was the best by far, and using you in such a way would destroy any loyalty to the organization you had." 

"I hadn't known the project had gotten that far…" Ienzo whispered beside her, and Demyx rubbed her thumb over his hand reassuringly. 

"Come on, Zexy, don't go blaming yourself for something dumb again. You were in my corner ya know!"

"Not for your well being!" He snapped. "I had simply been obsessed with you at the time, and didn't like the idea of you being with someone else." 

All Demyx did was give him a goofy grin. "You liiiiiked me. You were a sassy brat to everybody but me." She nuzzled into his shoulder affectionately, and Ienzo turned a deep pink shade. 

Even shook his head and rolled his eyes again. "Ironically enough, Zexion _was_ the ideal candidate. We were hoping to capitalize on your natural magic power. Not that any of this matters now." Even sighed, "you need to decide what you're going to do about this. We also have no evidence that the baby will even be _human_. It could just as well be a creeper or a dancer." 

"What are we gonna do about this, huh?” Demyx bobbed her head from side to side in thought. “Really, I just want more pickles." She admitted.

\---

They decided to keep it. Back in the organization, they’d often discussed what they’d do once they got their hearts back, and ‘have a baby’ had indeed been on their list. It was just coming _before_ ‘marriage’ and ‘achieve fortune and fame as a rock star’ instead of after. Oh well.

Unlike Even, the rest of the castle was actually happy for them. _Especially_ Ansem. Apparently there was a furniture set for the royal baby, and Ansem had taken the time to find it, deep in the castle’s storage areas. Demyx didn’t think Ienzo being a Prince was ever something she’d get used to, even if it was a useless title now. At least until the Restoration Committee convinced Ansem to actually become the proper king again. They kept badgering him about it no matter how much he said no. How he’d maintained such a high adoration rating despite the fall of his kingdom was anyone’s guess.

“I can’t believe all this old furniture is okay. Like, Ansem said its been used for generations right? Then they just sat there in the castle storage. You’d think wooden stuff like this would have, like, been rotten by now or something.” Demyx said, munching on a pickle. They wouldn’t let her lift anything, but she could at least watch as the nursery was assembled.

“It’s magically enchanted to last. Some of these things even have protection spells in place in case someone tries to attack the baby while they’re unguarded. The royal family of Radiant Garden has always been on top of things like that.” Dilan explained, carefully placing a bassinet in a corner. 

Once the nursery was done, Demyx was left to wander about and eat her pickles. Really, she wanted to find where the hell Ienzo had wandered off to. He’d disappeared after instructing Dilan and Aelaeus where they wanted everything, and then hadn’t returned. Then she ran out of pickles and decided that obtaining more was more important than her boyfriend’s whereabouts, thus she headed for the kitchen.

Which is where she found Ienzo, surrounded by an absolutely ludicrous amount of vegetables. She hadn’t even been aware the market _had_ that many vegetables in stock. Ienzo smiled at her when she walked in, even as she balked at the mountain of veggies.

“Is the nursery finished?” He asked, daikon radish in hand.

Demyx was having trouble finding words. “Er, yeah, it looks awesome! But what’s all this for?”

“Pickles. You eat far more than you ever have before, and they’re rather time consuming to make, so I decided I’d make a lot of them to make sure you don’t run out.” 

Staring at the veggie mountain that would one day satisfy her pregnancy cravings, and with Ienzo smiling at her like that, Demyx had only one thing to say: “Marry me!”

“I’m already planning on it.”

“Marry me faster!”

“Whatever makes you happy.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -sips tea- I'm going thru some shit in my life, and using this fic to get thru it, so if you dislike genderbends or some shit and are thinking about jumping on my ass about it, fuck off.


	2. Craving Commitment

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ienzo and Ansem have a talk

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This spiraled out of control. Have more weird pickle fic.
> 
> Warning: Talk of Ansem having been previously married to a woman.

Despite Demyx’s strong insistence that Ienzo ‘marry her right now immediately’ upon seeing the veggie mountain, they did _not_ have a shotgun wedding. No, Ienzo was far classier than that. No, he was going to do this _right_. Which meant finally coming up with a romantic proposal instead of pushing it off because of Radiant Garden’s rebuilding efforts, or Sora’s magical disappearance, or finally finding Sora again.

Despite his decision, Ienzo immediately hit a snag. He had no idea how to propose. Should he do a traditional proposal from Radiant Garden? Except one of the few things Demyx remembered of her past was being born on the Destiny Islands, so should he do a proposal from there instead? He didn’t even know their traditions! He needed a ring! Unless Destiny Islanders didn’t use rings, but what if he went for the Garden proposal? It was just too much!

“Just think about it before you say no again.” Voices. 

“I can assure you, my answer will not change. You need to find someone else for the job.” That was Ansem’s voice. Despite the fact that he was clearly discussing something important, Ienzo found himself hurrying toward him anyway, much as he had when he was a child. Even would always scold him after, even though Ansem had always acted happy to see him.

Apparently Ansem had been talking to Cid, from the restoration committee, but upon seeing Ienzo coming, said his goodbyes. Ienzo completely missed the thoughtful look Cid gave him on his way out, and Ansem ushered him inside his office.

“Something seems to be troubling you.” Ansem said simply, already behind his desk and pulling out two ice creams from a hidden freezer. When Ienzo was younger, he had mistakenly believed Ansem had used him as an excuse to go out for ice cream, rather than the truth of the matter. That Ansem had been offering him ice cream as an excuse to spend what little free time he had with his son, doing something a child would enjoy. Would Ienzo one day take walks and enjoy ice cream with his own child? Would Ansem? Ienzo’s heart felt lighter at the thought, threatening to move him to tears as he took the offered ice cream.

“Demyx and the baby seemed to be doing well when I saw her earlier, so it can’t be that.” Ansem’s voice was like a drop of water in the pool of his thoughts, shaking him away from their hold.

“I… Yes, they’re fine. It’s just…” Ienzo took a deep breath, and the dam broke. He told Ansem everything, that he wanted to propose, that he was sick of waiting, that he was worried he’d royally screw this up and Demyx would reject him. Despite the fact that she was happily having a child with him, and had said she wanted to marry him _years_ in advance, back when he was still Zexion and would regularly tell her it was impossible for him to love her. Truly, he had been exactly what one would want in a husband back then.

Ansem just smiled at him fondly, like this was all easily solved. “You’re aware I was married once, yes?” Ienzo nodded. Yes, he’d heard of the old Queen. She had died of an illness before she could give birth to any children, and although Ansem had eventually discovered a cure, it had managed to take Ienzo’s birth parents with it before kicking the proverbial bucket. “I was such a mess back then. I couldn’t get the words out, and Even was glaring at me from behind a bush, no doubt thinking I was making a fool of myself.” Ansem let out a wistful laugh. “She still said yes, so I suppose it worked out in the end. Just as I’m sure it will work out for you. Regardless of how you choose to propose, I had always planned to pass these onto you eventually.” Ansem had come to stand before him now, holding out a simple black box.

A set of rings. Simple silver bands, each with a red stone carved into Radiant Garden’s beloved heart symbol. Their mundane appearance hid their true value. Precious heirlooms made specifically for the rulers of Radiant Garden. Ienzo wasn’t even the one being proposed to and he could feel tears forming in his eyes. “But I’m not-” Not what? Not worthy? Not Ansem’s real son? How foolish of him, to ever think Ansem _wouldn’t_ do this. The man had never treated him as anything less than his own flesh and blood from the moment he had been adopted. He may have been too busy to spend as much time as he would have liked with Ienzo, but Ienzo had heard the rumors that he was to be Ansem’s true heir, had even heard it from the mouths of annoyed nobles themselves, annoyed specifically because he was a child from a humble family. He’d been called the prince more than once, by multiple people. Yet it had never felt so real until this moment, and he ended up crying like a baby in Ansem’s arms.

\---

By the time Ienzo left Ansem’s office, he had decided he was going to propose the traditional way of Radiant Garden at least. Returning to his room, he found Demyx in front of a mirror, gently messing with her hair. She jumped when she noticed him, looking very much like a startled deer. “Oh hey, welcome back!” She quickly moved away from the mirror to embrace him, giving him a kiss which he eagerly returned.

“Something on your mind?” He asked, placing another kiss on her lips.

“Mmm… Nothing too big…” Demyx replied, going in for another kiss as they slowly worked their way back to the bed to sit down.

Another kiss, and Ienzo took her hand, gently rubbing his thumb over it. “What’s wrong? You can tell me.”

Demyx’s eyes looked away awkwardly. “It’s just… Do you think I should cut my hair?” She said suddenly, and Ienzo was taken aback.

“What? What brought this on?”

Demyx gave him a little pout, “my hair isn’t very motherly, ya know? I was thinking maybe I should cut it.”

It was true, the unique, mullet mohawk affair Demyx called hair was a bit crazy, and definitely something you were more likely to see on a man, but still. It was so very _Demyx_.

“I do believe back in the organization, you said something along the lines of, ‘it doesn’t matter what my hair looks like when my tits are so big no one realizes I even have a face’, if I’m remembering correctly.” This got Demyx to crack a smile.

“Yeah, people are dumb.” She said wistfully. Demyx had always been a skilled manipulator, playing the perfect act of the dumb blond who coasted by on her good looks. Zexion was the only one to notice, and of course this had attracted him to her. They kept skirting around one another, wanting to trust each other and revel in their relationship, but also wanting to be aware, just in case the other was attempting to pull their strings. It had been rather exhausting, that first year and a half, then they simultaneously gave up and it worked out in their favor.

“Really, I think your hair is fine the way it is. I’m sure our baby will be happy to have such an interesting mother.” This earned Ienzo a proper kiss. Demyx tasted like the pickles she craved so much.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Zexion, when asked how he'd feel about Demyx if he suddenly regained a heart right then and there: "I'd fall in love with you instantly."  
> Ienzo: "I was awful to her back then."  
> He really wasn't.
> 
> -clings to weird pickle fic like pillow- My coping fic


	3. The Proposal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 4 months into the pregnancy and it's finally time for that proposal.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bet you can't guess who shows up at the end.

Four months into the pregnancy and Demyx wasn’t feeling as sick in the mornings as often as before. She was also beginning to form a bit of a baby bump. Finding that out had been fun. Ienzo had walked into their room to find her with her top off, bawling her head off and had thought the worst.

Also, there was one other really annoying symptom. “Zexyyyyy, my tits hurt.” They were so sore all the time, and had even dared to get bigger than their already massive size.

Ienzo glanced up from his book, eyebrow raised, “and what would you like me to do about this?”

“Massage them!” She whined pitifully.

Ienzo continued to stare at her, not getting up. “I seem to remember you making this request multiple times before. In fact, the moment I touched them, you would swat me away, saying that touching them hurt even more.” Pregnant or not, even Ienzo had his limits.

“I won’t do it this time, I promise!” She pleaded, giving him her best puppy dog eyes and adding in a please for good measure. Ienzo sighed, getting up. Demyx swatted him away again.

\---

Demyx couldn’t help but bounce excitedly in her seat. “Are we almost there? Come on, tell me we’re almost there!” She begged, and Ienzo let out a chuckle.

“Well, if you looked out the window, you’d see the Destiny Islands are coming into view right now.” He said, and Demyx let out an excited squeal, bouncing even more.

Demyx was out of the gummi ship and rushing toward the beach as soon as they touched down, and Ienzo was left to get their things unloaded. Luckily for him, he had already phoned Sora, Riku, and Kairi, who could be seen rushing to meet them. Ienzo later found his runaway girlfriend barefoot and dancing with the sea. Even without playing Arpeggio, water was quick to dance for its favorite Maestro. She was at her most beautiful like this, completely in her element. 

“Ah, Destiny Islands! I haven’t been here since I went home!” Demyx chimed in a relaxed manner, taking in the breeze, but it made Ienzo’s mood sour a bit. He’d been with her then, when she’d traveled to a distant island that wasn’t even on the sea charts anymore. There hadn’t been a single trace of civilization there, like one had never existed in the first place. The only memories Demyx had of back then, and everything was completely _gone_ . Ienzo couldn’t imagine what it would be like to travel so far into the future that not even the _ruins_ of Radiant Garden remained.

Ienzo shook away those bleak thoughts. That wasn’t why they were here. No, they were here to relax, enjoy the beach, and for Ienzo to do a romantic proposal. Ienzo’s hand subconsciously moved to his pocket to check for the rings. Yep, right where they should be. “Demyx, we need to check in to the inn.” He called, and she turned to grin at him, leaving the waves behind and grabbing the shoes she’d kicked off. 

They took a boat to the main island, where their story was that they were tourists from a far away island that _was_ on the sea charts. Taking a romantic trip around the world before their baby was born. If anyone asked, at least. Barely anyone did, more concerned with Demyx’s existence as a pregnant woman and “Oh, can I please touch your belly, Miss?” _Absolutely_ they could touch Demyx’s belly, both to avoid attracting negative attention and because Demyx _was_ a bit of an attention whore. Like any star, she was made for the spotlight, even if this spotlight wasn’t because of adoring fans, screaming for her music. She preened under the attention all day.

“This is the best trip ever, Zexy!” She exclaimed later, as she played her Sitar and they lounged on the beach as the sun set.

“Are you sure there isn’t anything that could make it better?” He asked, trying to hide the grin in his voice. Kairi, Riku, and Sora were in position, gummi phones at the ready to record.

“Like _what_?!” Demyx asked, incredulous. “I got attention, I got to eat all my favorite foods I never get to have, I got to go _swimming_ in the _ocean_ , _you’re_ here! I even get to play my Sitar! Not a single thing could make this better! I’d bet _Luxord_ munny on it!”

Ienzo pulled out the ring, Arpeggio disappeared as Demyx’s hands flew to her mouth, and the trio recording broke out into grins. Far, far away and wherever the hell he was, Luxord’s head suddenly shot up as he sensed he would have been able to win a bet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surprise Luxord.


	4. Baby Shower

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A baby shower is held, and a gift is received from a surprise source.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah, the beauty of self indulgent fic.

Seven months into the pregnancy, and it was time for a baby shower. Which, when all your friends lived on other worlds, meant a weekend long affair where you had a small party and then showed them all your favorite spots. The guest list really put into perspective just how many of their friends were teenagers. Not that it mattered, since sexual themed party games and the like sounded distasteful to every resident in the castle. 

Aqua, Terra, and Ventus had arrived, dragging Vanitas with them by the scruff. No one knew the story of how the hell that happened, but they were assured that he was okay now. Regardless, they decided to trust their friends and not question miracles.

Sora, Kairi, Riku, and Namine arrived later, quite a few more gifts in hand than expected. Then came everyone from Twilight Town. A party of seven, consisting of Isa, Lea, Roxas, Xion, Hayner, Pence, and Olette. Goofy, Donald, and Mickey had been unable to attend, but Goofy had sent his son Max to drop off their gifts.

Hayner, Pence, and Olette couldn’t get over the fact that ‘the squiggly things’ were all over the castle. “They’re called Dusks.” Ienzo supplied. “Their homeworld was destroyed, and as their former lieges, the moment they found us again they stuck to us like glue, even though we’re no longer nobodies ourselves.” They had wiggled so pathetically at them that even Ansem had felt pity for their plight. They helped repair the castle too, so it was a win-win.

“Are those scary guys with spears at the gates Dusks too?” Asked Hayner.

“Those are Dilan’s Dragoons, and they are another type of nobody. We almost got into a fight with the Restoration Committee when they were first employed there.” Ienzo laughed awkwardly. Yep, Dilan had arrived at the gates to see them in a brawl with Leon because they thought he was an intruder trying to break in and Leon had thought they were threats. That led to a very fun month of arguing with the committee and the lesser nobodies almost being forced to leave. Delegating half of them to helping the rebuild efforts had smoothed things over. They weren’t the brightest bunch, but they were still very, _very_ good at completing the tasks they were given.

From there, everyone was shown their rooms and allowed to settle in before it was time for the actual party. It was a simple affair with light decoration, but as many pickles and sea salt ice creams as they could eat. Demyx had been craving those too lately. Ansem was _definitely_ getting a new ice cream buddy out of this baby if the countless ice cream sticks in Demyx’s garbage can were anything to go by.

Hayner, Pence, and Olette had gotten a rather substantial number of diapers, and they’d received a _lovely_ baby blue onesie from Kairi, paopu fruit decal lovingly hand sewn into the chest by her grandmother. Aqua had made a stuffed Chirithy, which Demyx had proceeded to hold up to the real Chirithy to compare. There was also a stuffed Shadow Heartless and a stuffed Flood, and oh wait no, that was a real, very tiny Flood that Vanitas had made and hid in the gift as a prank. Demyx learned this when it started wiggling and jumped from her arms, startling everyone. Vanitas thought it was a riot. Ienzo had been recording. Yep, it was probably going on Kingstagram. Queen Minnie had picked out a lovely music box, but beyond that it was mostly just little toys, baby books, and other clothes. They already had their essentials, so no one needed to get too crazy with the gifts.

The party was relaxing and enjoyable, to the point where even perpetually grumpy Vanitas decided to have a go at touching Demyx’s baby bump. It kicked at him like babies do, but his eyes went wide and he sulked in a corner the rest of the party, apparently pissy that it had made him feel things.

“I’m sure he’ll come around.” Terra said later, after all the kids had gone to bed and it was only the adults. 

Nothing much had changed, they were still just chatting and swapping stories, though the absence of kids meant they got to curse again. “Okay, so Even was, like, giving me a check-up earlier, right? And he asks how I’m doing or whatever, and, like, apparently, ‘I’m still preggers as fuck,’ was _not_ the right answer, let me tell you.” The group broke out into roaring laughter at that one. 

Things continued on this way, until one of Demyx’s dancers arrived, carrying a wrapped box. Everyone stared, fairly surprised a lesser nobody would get such a well put together present, considering the pile of old ribbons and pretty rocks the rest had brought.

**_“I found it outside my liege.”_ ** Was the rough translation of their dance, causing everyone to look at the box wearily. Inside was a rather soft baby blanket, and a note.

_‘Hey, heard I’m gonna be a Grandpa! Sorry I can’t be there, but you know, places to be, stuff to do. I’d say keep me posted, but there really isn’t a way for you guys to find me, haha - Xiggy’_

“So he is alive.” Ienzo said, peeking over Demyx’s shoulder to see.

“Yep.” Demyx said simply.

“Should we be worried about this?” Asked Isa. Everyone ended up giving a noncommittal shrug about it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Demyx refuses to give up her dumb blond act in front of anyone but Ienzo, so if you're wondering why I wrote her speaking like a bad valley girl attempt, that's why.


	5. The Melody of a Baby's Cry

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The baby is finally born.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 5\. fucking. chapters. To say this spiraled out of control is an understatement.

Eight months along, and Ansem had wanted to make sure they’d had their final names picked out. “We’ve actually had names picked out for a while.” Ienzo admitted, an evil little grin on his face. “If it’s a boy, we wanted to name it after you.” His tone was honey sweet and dripping with fake innocence.

Ansem made a face like he’d tasted something unpleasant. “Perhaps a more unique name would be better. I feel my name has been far too popular over these last few years.”

Ienzo and Demyx laughed, because of course they wouldn’t do that.

\---

Almost nine months, and Demyx was ready for the little bastard to be born already. “This is the worst! This thing is totally a dancer, because it keeps kicking me!” She groaned.

Ienzo sighed, not looking up from his book. “Even already said it’s going to be a human. You’re far enough along that we can know for sure.”

“You say that but watch, this thing is totally gonna be a tiny dancer!” Demyx pointed at him in an accusatory manner. “And why did nobody warn me I’d be horny all the damn time?! You take great care of me and all, but you’d think that’d be super important to know in advance!” Demyx continued to bitch and moan about the various hardships of pregnancy, like the baby keeping her up at night and having to pee every five minutes. Ienzo was ready for the baby to come out too.

\---

The delivery was not difficult for Demyx. Her body was just as malleable and stretchy as any of the lesser nobodies, even if it was not a skill she actively used, and easily moved to accommodate however the baby needed to get out. It took less than an hour once things actually got going. As soon as she was physically able, their new baby girl let out an ungodly screech from the depths of hell, _cracking a monitor screen_ from the sheer volume. Everybody was still wincing when she finally went quiet, more concerned with sucking on one of Demyx’s nipples.

“Woo, she’s got a set of _pipes_! We’re gonna do some _awesome_ duets when she’s bigger!” Demyx exclaimed, probably louder than she needed to, but she was certain her hearing was permanently damaged now.

Ienzo smiled at them fondly, also sure he had permanent hearing loss. “It’d be nice if she picked up your love for music and the arts.”

Demyx shook her head. “No way! She should totally become a giant mega smarty like you! Science-y things get you a lot farther in life! Besides, she already has your hair!” It was rather short, but she did have a head full of Ienzo’s trademark silver locks.

“She also has your eyes.” Ienzo huffed. Of course he’d bring up her eyes. Even as Zexion, Demyx’s eyes had been his favorite of her features, to the point he would correct her if she said her best feature was something like her tits, which she often did.

They were about ready to get into a full on argument about who the baby should take after before Dilan clapped his hands to get their attention. “Yeah, yeah, we all want the best for her, but can we _name_ her first before we choose her career path?”

The name they had picked out for a girl was Melody.

\---

Kingstagram pics and the announcement of Melody’s birth had been posted, the entire city was going nuts because this was the first royal birth since Ansem himself, and Ansem was trying to ignore that everyone else was ignoring that _he hadn’t agreed to become king again damn it_. At this rate he was going to end up king again whether he liked it or not, especially since the Restoration Committee had started to badger _Ienzo_ about becoming king since he was technically crown prince.

None of that mattered now, however, as Demyx lounged on their bed, watching Ienzo read Melody to sleep with a fairytale from his Lexicon. “You know someday Sora is gonna find out you lied to him about everybody losing their powers, right?” She asked amused, getting up so they could put their now sleeping baby to bed for the first time.

“I absolutely refuse to let him know. Its been far too long. I’d die on the spot from the sheer embarrassment that I thought lying to him was necessary.” Ienzo’s cheeks were practically on fire, and Demyx laughed.

Getting ready for bed, Demyx ended up in front of the mirror again, top off and hands on her stomach. Ienzo wandered over and put his arms around her comfortingly. “What’s wrong?”

“I thought I was gonna have to work off the baby weight and stuff, but there isn’t any… I like, _just_ gave birth a few hours ago.” Her stomach was one again flat, not a trace of fat or even a stretch mark. The only proof that Demyx had gone through nine months of pregnancy and an entire birth was the baby sleeping soundly in the next room.

“It’s to be expected. The same stretchiness and malleability that allowed an easy birth was also happening when Melody was growing inside of you. You’re simply returning exactly to your normal size.” Ienzo tried to sooth her with science and logic, but Demyx was still frowning. Also to be expected, since the culture of the Destiny Islands had placed value on things like stretch marks. Some kind of motherly rite of passage or something.

“It’s really easy to think of the other nobodies as nothing like me, but I’m really not human anymore, huh?” The day of their daughter’s birth had a bittersweet aftertaste.

\---

Life went on. Demyx woke up the next morning and whatever strange angst she had felt about being a nobody the night before was gone. Considering she had never given a damn about being a human or nobody before then, Even chalked it up to leftover hormones and that was that. Melody sure didn’t give a flying fuck. She only cared that Demyx was the source of her food, and that Demyx played wonderful music. She’d often coo and try to babbe along as her mother played and even sang to her; a rarity, given that singing was what normally triggered Demyx’s most powerful attacks. “I could have totally taken down Sora if I ever got far enough into one of my songs to sing! If I could have just distracted him long enough with my water clones back then…” She had claimed once. Ienzo was inclined to believe her. He remembered those training sessions back in the Organization.

Ansem had, very reluctantly, taken up the mantle of king again. He’d enacted a few new laws that improved everyone’s quality of life, proving exactly why he was king before in the first place, and then made a proper city council, dividing up his work more so he could actually spend time with his new grandchild before they shot up into adulthood without him like Ienzo did. Despite the fact that that scenario had been completely out of his control, he was still paranoid about it.

Even made sure Melody was the picture of health, often instructing Demyx and Ienzo on exactly how to keep her that way. Whatever lingering disapproval he had for Demyx was completely gone by now, Melody barging in and taking over the space he had once used for it.

They’d gotten another note from Xigbar. He’d wanted some pictures, which they were happy to give him. They’d left them out for him and found them gone later, a thank you note in their place. They wondered if he would ever come home.

Ienzo’s hair style was also genetic, it seemed, and by six-months-old, Melody was both crawling and rocking a punk rock fringe of her own, just long enough to cover her eye but not her entire face.

Crawling. Crawling was fun. She was ever the curious baby, no longer kept satisfied by her toys. Really, the only thing able to keep her in place was Demyx’s music, and one day, watching Melody alone and playing for her, Demyx’s eyes started to slide shut. She only realized she’d fallen asleep when she was awoken by Melody letting out an ungodly wail, jumping up in panic and fearing her baby was _dying_ and wow, she was such a horrible mother, _no no no_ -

Aeleus had apparently been making rounds nearby, as he slid into view at the doorway, Skysplitter summoned and looking ready to kick all kinds of ass. Melody was sitting in front of the doorway completely fine, tiny hands clutching the baby gate and wailing because she wasn’t able to escape and explore the castle completely unsupervised, and _clearly_ , this was a horrible crime and meant no one loved her.

Aeleus shook his head, Skysplitter disappearing from his hands. “She’s Ienzo’s kid alright.”

She was the apple of the castle’s eye, even when she got fussy because she couldn’t explore, or Dilan wouldn’t hand her his piece of pickled Daikon he’d had to wait _nine months_ to be able to eat again because Demyx’s cravings took priority and Melody couldn’t even properly eat it _anyway_.

\---

Pickles. Demyx's eyes shot open at the thought. She really, really wanted some pickles right now. A glance at the bedside clock. 3 AM. She should stay in bed, snuggle a bit closer to Ienzo, and go back to sleep. Except she really, really wanted some pickles. So, stealthy as a mouse, she got out of bed and made her way to the kitchen. 

  
Ienzo flicked on the kitchen light roughly five minutes later, hair unkempt and squinty eyed, to find her munching on a piece of pickled daikon. “We are _not_ doing this again before Melody can talk.” He said. Demyx held out a pickle towards him and he took it. Melody started crying, like she sensed that they had dared to have pickles without her even though she couldn’t eat them. Demyx was not pregnant this time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> They don't get married until Melody turns like 1.
> 
> Finally, this weird genderbend pregnancy pickle craving fic comes to an end. It's self indulgent as hell, and really made me feel better.


End file.
